Monster
by Aquamarine1212
Summary: A dangerous poison falls into the hands of Shredder. After a rooftop fight with the foot clan Raphael starts to act weird...and a near-death experience for Michelangelo tops it off. Something is definitely wrong with Raphael, but he doesn't have time to think about it; the other turtles are on a hunt for revenge; and they're looking for him. Rated T for moderate violence.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.**

A single Foot ninja walked down the tunnel. His footsteps echoed off the stone walls. He continued on, glancing around nervously. A drop of water fell off the roof and landed on his head. He nearly screamed but caught himself just in time. He sighed and cursed to himself. He was supposed to be spying on the turtles, and if he screamed, they would definitely hear him, and that would be the end of the whole mission.

The spy stopped as he looked into one of the rooms. This time he couldn't hold back a screech at what he saw. A huge mutated wasp carcass was lying on the ground. The spy froze as he heard a shout come from another passage.

"Did you hear that?"

The spy looked at the dead creature below him, and recognized it from one of the Kraang experiments he had heard about. The yellow and black stripes, the clear, filmy wings and the huge black eyes were all familiar.

_I wonder if Shredder will want this_ _thing._ The Foot ninja thought. Shredder could find a use for nearly anything. Finally he decided to take it back with him. He grimaced as he picked up one leg in each of his hands. _This is so gross._ He lugged it out of the room. The voices were getting closer.

Quickly the foot ninja stumbled into another tunnel, his feet making a soft _thud thud_ noise on the stone. Just as he turned into another passage and disappeared, the four turtles ran into the tunnel, their weapons drawn and their muscles tense.

"Hey, I know this place!" Michaelangelo said. "This is where we fought that parasitica wasp and Leo got stung and went all cuckoo over the egg."

"Don't remind me!" Leo groaned.

"That's funny." Donatello said, a frown creasing his face. "I thought we left the parasitica wasp's dead carcass in there, but now it's gone."

"The Kraang probably took it away." Raphael said with a smirk.

"Come 'on guys, it's almost dawn. We should get back to the lair." Leo said. The four turtles turned around and started to head back. Donatello however hesitated and looked back into the room. His gut was telling him something wasn't quite right…

"Are you coming Donny?" Michaelangelo shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Donny said. With one last glance into the building, he ran around the corner and disappeared.""

* * *

"You are a sorry excuse for a spy!"

Shredder sat on his throne, glaring down at the Foot ninja who had been in the tunnes earlier. The ninja was kneeling before Shredder with his head lowered.

"I'm sorry Shredder. But the mission was not a complete failure." The ninja said hurriedly. "I did find this." On his signal two ninjas came forward. They dragged the parasitica wasp's body into the middle of the floor and dropped it with a thud.

Shredder was about to speak when Baxter Stockman rushed forward. He gasped and said, "Is this really what I think it is?

"What are you all excited about?" The foot ninja muttered. "It's just a giant bug."

"It's not just any old bug! It's a mutated parasitica wasp." Baxter said.

"So it's a wasp." Karai emerged from the shadows, twirling a katana lazily in her hand.

"Not just any wasp!" Baxter said. "The parasitica wasp injects poison into its victims with its stinger. At first it will seem like nothing happened. But slowly the victim becomes obsessed with protecting the wasp's egg. They grow deranged and they bite anything that threatens the wasp's egg. It's what the wasp does to protect its egg if it's going to die."

"That's not weird at all." Karai smirked. "So, why are you so happy we've got a dead wasp?"

"Just imagine what I could do if I could change the chemicals in the poison and figure out a way to change what the victim becomes obsessed with!" Baxter said. "We could do so much with it, maybe even defeat the turtles!"

"Can you do it?" Shredder asked abruptly, turning his icy gaze towards Baxter. "Can you change the chemicals in the poison?"

"Hah! Are you kidding? I've been studying this thing for years. I'm pretty sure I can find a way to do it." Baxter said confidently. "However, if I change it, it may become weaker. The victim could be able to control himself for short periods of time."

"How about we infect all the turtles and make them kill Splinter?" Karai said, a wicked grin on her face.

"There's one problem." Baxter interrupted Karai. "There is only enough poison in here to infect one person." Baxter had dissected the bug and was holding a small vile of the poison in his hand.

A frown creased Karai's face and she muttered something under her breath.

"Instead, we will take away the one thing from Hatmato Yoshi that has allowed him to stay in hiding. If we take away his ninjas, he will be forced to come and face me. Pain and want for revenge will make him come. We will make one of the ninjas obsessed with killing the others." Shredder said, his deep voice echoing in the large room. Then, with a bone-chilling chuckle, he said,

"And I know exactly which one."


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.**

"Raphael!"

On the rooftop of a large building the four ninja turtles; Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo; were battling a group of foot clan ninjas. Weapons whirled through the air as the foot ninjas were knocked out one by one.

"A little help Raph?!"

Donatello was attempting to hold off several ninjas with his staff. The problem was that if he used his staff to knock out one of the ninjas he couldn't hold off the others and they would easily be able to land a few blows on him before he could strike them too.

"It's big brother to the rescue as usual." Raphael smirked. He knocked out the ninja he had been fighting and ran over to Donatello. He easily took out three ninjas, leaving Donatello free to use his staff and knock out the fourth one.

"Thanks." Donatello said, turning around to strike a foot ninja in the head. Raphael rolled his eyes and continued with his own battle.

Suddenly a group of ninjas lunged out of the shadows and surrounded Raphael. "Good." Raphael laughed. "A real challenge!" He raised his sai and prepared to strike. Suddenly he felt something large and hard knock him on the side of the head. He legs buckled and he fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was a foot ninja holding something long…and sharp…and thin. Then the world went black and Raphael sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

Leonardo watched as the remaining foot ninjas fled. "Another win for the turtles!" Michelangelo shouted, pumping his fist. Leo smiled and turned around to face his brothers. Suddenly he realized there were only three of them.

"Where's Raphael?" Leonardo asked. Donatello glanced around and shrugged, and Michelangelo just continued pumping his fists.

"Great!" Leonardo said, feeling irritated. "Raphael is missing."

"Raphael is missing?!" Michelangelo said, his eyes getting wide. "Oh no man! This is horrible! What if the foot ninjas took him, or what if he fell off the roof, or what if a flying monkey took him?!"

Leonardo and Donatello gave Michelangelo a look of irritation. "Really?" Leonardo said. Donatello rolled his eyes and started to search for Raphael.

"What? It's possible." Michelangelo said, crossing his arms and putting on a stubborn face.

"Look guys this is serious. We have to find Raphael." Leonardo said. "Split up and look around the rooftop." Quickly the turtles split up and headed in different directions. Donatello looked over the edge of the roof and scanned the pavement. Michelangelo picked the strangest spot to check, as usual, as he stuck his head underneath a satellite dish. Quietly Leonardo went over to one of the elevated rooftop skylights and peeked behind it.

"Hey guys, I found him!" Leo shouted. Michelangelo banged his head on the satellite dish as he crawled out from underneath it. "Ouch." He said, rubbing his head. Quickly Donatello ran over to Raphael, who was laying on the rooftop. He was totally still except for the slight rise and fall of his chest.

"Hmm." Donatello said, picking up a large wooden plank that had been dropped next to Raphael. "It looks like one of the foot ninjas used this wooden plank to knock out Raphael."

Suddenly Raphael groaned and opened his eyes. He stared up at his brothers and inwardly moaned. _I'm never going to live this down. _He thought. _I got taken out by a foot clan soldier with a wood plank?! What kind of ninja am I?_

"Dude, those ninjas gave you a beating." Michelangelo said. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…I'm fine." Raphael grunted, standing up.

"If you're fine, then…" Michelangelo burst out laughing. "You got beat up by a foot ninja with a wooden plank!" Donatello and Leonardo joined Michelangelo and they all fell onto the ground laughing.

"SHUT UP!" Raphael practically roared out the words. His eyes were filled with rage and Donatello and Leonardo were immediately quiet. But Michelangelo kept on laughing and Leonardo gave him a glance. _He is so dead._

Raphael growled and ran towards Michelangelo with his arms extended in front of him. Michelangelo quickly noticed him and started to run. "Ahhh!" Michelangelo shouted in fear and Raphael chased him around the rooftop.

"Get back here so I can beat you up!" Raphael shouted, anger flaring in his eyes. Leonardo simply watched in amusement as his youngest brother was chased down.

"Leo? Donny? A little help here?!" Michelangelo pleaded as he ran past them with Raphael right behind him.

"Not my problem." Donatello shrugged.

"Not mine either." Leo said, shaking his head.

"Thanks a lot guys." Michelangelo said, an irritated look on his face. Just then Raphael caught up to him and pinned him down. Raphael gave him a swift punch in the nose before letting him get up.

"Seriously man? You gave me a bloody nose!" Michelangelo said as the red liquid dripped from his nostril.

"And you deserved it!" Raphael growled. "Can we head back to the lair already?"

Leonardo rolled his eyes and led the turtles down the side of the building using the fire escape. Raphael followed him, his eyes still filled with anger. He cursed under his breath and kicked one of the ladders, causing it to rattle and shake. Suddenly he clutched his head in pain and his eyes got wide. As his brothers continued down the side of the building he stayed on one of the levels of the fire escape, his head throbbing from the horrible headache.

"Are you coming Raph?" Donatello asked.

As quickly as the headache had struck, it faded away. "Yeah, I'm coming." Raphael muttered, kicking the ladder one last time before he followed his brothers. Quickly they all disappeared into the sewer and the manhole cover was pulled over the hole.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.**

"Strike faster Donatello! Focus Michelangelo!"

Splinter watched as Michelangelo and Donatello trained with a mock battle. Raphael and Leonardo sat on the side, waiting for their turn to fight. Leonardo watched Donatello and Michelangelo intently, but Raphael's mind seemed to be elsewhere as his eyes drifted around the room. He felt a headache gnawing at his brain and he tried to ignore it. Ever since that rooftop battle with the foot clan, strange headaches had been tormenting him.

"Leonardo, Raphael, your turn." Splinter said. Raphael snapped out of his thoughts and got up.

"Good luck." Donatello said to Leonardo. "You're going to need it." Raphael smirked with pleasure. Leonardo might be the leader, but everyone knew that Raphael was the best at fighting and the strongest. Leonardo drew his swords and Raphael took out his sai. As Leonardo got into a defensive stance, Raphael just twirled his sai lazily and laughed.

"I have something I must attend to." Splinter said. "I trust that you to will fight clean." Then he left the room and disappeared into his chambers.

"Are you gonna be smart and give up now, or are we gonna fight?" Raphael said.

Leonardo narrowed his eyes. "If you think you can take me down easily you're in for a surprise!" he said.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Raphael said.

"Are we gonna talk all day or are we gonna fight?" Leonardo asked.

"Bring it!" Raphael said, grinning mischievously.

Leonardo swung out his swords and Raphael dodged them. Then Raphael caught one of Leonardo's hand with his sai and flung Leo onto the ground. But before Raphael could pin him, Leo was back up on his feet. Leonardo put all his weight onto his hands and arms and swung out his legs at Raphael's legs, sweeping him. Raphael quickly fell down. Leo pinned Raphael down with his foot and smiled triumphantly.

"Ready to give up yet?" Leonardo asked with a grin.

Raphael struggled to free himself. _I always win!_ He thought. _This is not happening. Leo is beating me?!_

His thoughts were quickly interrupted though. Suddenly a horrible pain struck Raphael's head. This was much worse than the headaches he had been getting. It felt like a pile of bricks had just fallen on his skull and crushed it. Raphael screamed and grabbed his head, his eyes tightly shut in pain. Quickly everyone stared at him.

"Raphael?" Leonardo said, his voice tainted with worry. "Are you alright?"

Raphael suddenly whipped around. His eyes seemed darker than before and an angry expression filled his face. "GET OFF!" he screamed. Then before Leo could take his foot off of Raphael, Raphael totally lost it. He plunged his sai into Leonardo's foot, the three sharp points digging into his skin. Leonardo yelped in pain and jumped off Raphael, reeling back in surprise and falling onto the floor. Raphael pulled the blood-stained sai out of Leonardo's foot,then got up and stormed off to his room. He glared at all of them one more time before he slammed the door and disappeared.

Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo simply stared at where Raphael had disappeared into his room in shock. Leonardo blinked in confusion as he held onto his injured foot. Donatello's jaw dropped, and Michelangelo couldn't find anything to say.

"Did Raph just...plunge his sai into your foot?!" Donatello said in shock.

"I..I think so." Leonardo said.

"This doesn't make sense." Donatello said in confusion. "Why would he do that? I mean he has been a little upset since that battle with the foot clan, but I don't know why he would take it out on you!"

"Maybe he's just ashamed that he got taken out with a wooden plank, and then when Leo won the fight he just blew up." Michelangelo shrugged, finally speaking.

"That's probably it.." Donatello said, but there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

"Someone should go talk to him." Michelangelo said.

"Michelangelo is right."

Everyone turned around quickly to look at Splinter. "If Raphael is upset, we should figure out why so we can help him." Splinter said in his deep voice.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's mad at me." Leo grunted. "So I'm not going in there."

"Neither am I!" Donatello said nervously. "I have to...um...put a bandage on Leo's foot."

"Well why should I go in there?! He gave me a bloody nose a few nights ago!" Michelangelo said. "I think that Donatello should do it."

"I have to help Leonardo." Donatello said nervously. "Good luck Mikey!" Then he dragged Leo out of the room and left Michelangelo.

"Seriously guys?! He's gonna kill me!" Michelangelo whined. Splinter put his hand on Michelangelo's shoulder.

"Raphael is your brother. He cares about you. The worst thing he will do is yell at you." Splinter said kindly. "Go on, talk to him."

Michelangelo sighed in defeat and plodded over to Raphael's room. "I am so dead." he muttered to himself. Then he cautiously approached the door. After staring at it for a bit, he opened the door just a crack and prepared himself.

If only he knew how close his words had come to the truth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Whew! Finally got the next chapter up! Sorry it took so long, since school started it's been harder to get on. But tada, here's the next chapter! I'll try to update more often, but I can't make any promises. Hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own TMNT.**

Michelangelo's hand wavered over the doorknob uncertainly. He knew he should open the door, but he was afraid. Afraid that the moment he opened the door Raphael would fly out of the room in a fit of rage.

So he decided to knock. This way, he figured, if Raphael came out in a fit of rage he would have a few extra seconds to run. Not that it mattered since Raphael ran a heck a lot faster the Michelangelo. "Raph?" he said quietly. "Hey, you in there?" There was no response. Michelangelo bit his lip nervously. _I should open it. But I shouldn't._ As he tried to decide what to do, something dark was brewing just behind the door.

* * *

The room was dark. Not a single light was turned on, and there were no windows. If you blinked your eyes you could barley tell the difference between when they were closed and when they were open. The only thing you could see was the faint outline of Raphael and his bright green eyes.

He was sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Spike was slowly chewing on a leaf, his usual activity. Raphael was still having a hard time processing what had just happened. _Why the heck did I do that? That was so stupid. I should probably go…apologize._

But he couldn't bring himself to get up. Somehow the dark room seemed to suit him fine right now. But sooner or later he'd have to get up. Sooner seemed like the better option. Just as he was about to get up, there was a knock on the door.

"Raph?" He heard Michelangelo on the other side of the door. "Hey, you in there?"

Raphael froze. The headaches were coming back. _Not again_. Something bad always happened after his head started to hurt. _Maybe it would be safer if Mikey just stayed out of the room until these stupid things go away. They seem to make me angrier than I usually am which is pretty angry._

Suddenly the door cracked open and light flooded into the room.

* * *

Michelangelo cautiously went into the room. It was very dark, and it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. When they did he could see Raphael sitting on his bed, facing the wall.

"Hey Raph? Are you ok?" Michelangelo asked tentatively, looking for any signs that Raphael might suddenly spring up and attack him. Raphael stayed silent and continued to stare at the wall. Now Mikey was getting a little creeped out.

"If you want to go talk to Leo, you can," Michelangelo said. This time he saw Raphael flinch a little. "None of us are mad at you," Michelangelo quickly added in, "We're just a little confused."

"You want to know what's wrong with me," Raphael said bitterly.

"No, we don't think anything is wrong with you!" Michelangelo protested. "I mean, you probably just got mad and then got a little carried away. We just want to clear things up between each other. We're cool, right bro?"

Raphael was silent. Michelangelo shifted on his feet nervously. "…Raph?" he said, taking a few steps forward.

Suddenly Raph turned around. His eyes were filled with something that looked like rage, and they somehow seemed darker. He lunged at Michelangelo and socked him in the head.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Michelangelo screamed. Raphael reached back and grabbed one of his sai off the floor before plunging it into Michelangelo's foot. Mikey screamed and stumbled backwards, blood splattering onto the floor. Then he tripped and fell over. Raphael loomed over him, his eyes dark.

"What is WRONG with you?!" Mikey said in shock as he stared at Raphael.

Suddenly Raphael grinned. But it wasn't a happy grin. It was a grin that made Michelangelo truly terrified. Raphael's green eyes were locked onto Michelangelo as he walked towards his younger brother. Michelangelo backed up towards the wall, his eyes wide with fear.

"Struggling won't help." Raphael snickered. "One way or another, I'm going to kill you."

"You-wait-WHAT?!" Michelangelo screeched. "Raphael, if this is a joke, it's not funny!"

Raphael laughed. "Aren't you the one who tells the jokes Michelangelo?" he chuckled, twirling his sai. "Well, the fun is over."

Raphael pinned down Michelangelo with his foot and bent over. He held up his sai to Michelangelo's throat. The cold metal tip brushed against his skin and Michelangelo closed his eyes. He could feel the tears building up. What _a horrible way to die. Killed by your own brother._ Raphael raised his sai up in the air, getting ready to plunge it into Michelangelo's throat.

Just then the door flung open, and Raphael looked up to see two familiar faces staring at him in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my gosh. Two chapters in two days?! This is new. Anyways, I just couldn't stop writing! I wanted to continue this story SO BAD. So I did. Well, I hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own TMNT.**

Raphael blinked a few times before he suddenly realized what was going on. He stared at Leonardo and Donatello, who were standing in the door frame and then looked back down at Michelangelo, who was looking at his raised sai as if he expected it to come down any second. Raphael opened his mouth but couldn't find anything to say.

_What the heck am I doing?_

"What…." Donatello trailed off as he stared the sai, ready to strike, and followed its path…right to Michelangelo's throat.

"This doesn't look good…" Raphael said, slowly lowering his sai. "But I-"

Before Raphael could even finish his sentence Leonardo lunged at him and knocked him across the room. Michelangelo took the chance to bolt out the door. Raphael quickly grabbed the other one of his sai and pointed it at Leonardo, although he didn't make any sort of move of attack. Leonardo glared at him.

"What were you doing? Trying to KILL Mikey?!" Leonardo shouted angrily.

Raphael backed up against the wall as Leonardo walked closer. "I-I don't know what happened!" Raphael stammered, which was partially true. He had no idea what had possessed him to try and…

_Please just let this be a nightmare._

Leonardo snapped out his katanas and pointed them at Raphael, rage and fury in his eyes. Suddenly Raphael felt a flash of pain in his head and recognized it immediately_. No no no!_ But he quickly lost control and chucked one of his sai at Leonardo's head. Donatello screamed as the sai grazed Leonardo's skull and left three long gashes in his head. Leonardo stumbled backwards a little bit. Raphael took this chance to strike and plunged his other sai into Leo's arm.

Donatello ran forward and grabbed Raphael's hands. Raphael jerked himself out of Donatello's grasp and was about to plunge his sai into Donatello's head when the lights flickered out.

* * *

Leonardo groped around the room, trying to find his other katana in the dark. He could hear Raphael muttering angrily somewhere else in the room and Donatello whimpering.

"Stupid stupid STUPID!" Raphael growled.

Leonardo lunged in the general direction of the voice and landed on top of Raphael's foot. "Ouch!" Raphael yelped. "Get off!" Raph kicked out furiously and managed to land a few kicks onto Leonardo.

"I'm going to pound you to a pulp Raph!" Leo snarled.

"Let me explain-"

"Oh shut up! I don't want to hear any excuses!"

Leonardo swung his fist towards where he thought Raphael's face was. "Ow!" Donatello yelped as Leonardo's fist hit his face. "What was that for?"

"Sorry Donny." Leo said. Just then the lights flickered back on. Leonardo blinked his eyes to get used to the light, then looked around. Donatello was rubbing his head where Leonardo had accidentally hit him. Raphael was nowhere to be found. Suddenly Leonardo heard a thud outside the door. He grabbed his katanas and rushed out.

Michelangelo was huddled in a corner of the room and he stared at Raphael. "Raph! What are you doing?" Michelangelo shouted, but Raph ignored him. Raphael was running towards the exit, and had a slight limp to his gait. Leonardo started to run towards him, but Raphael quickly whipped around.

"Stay back!" he yelled, pointing his sai at Leo. His hands were trembling. "Don't come a step closer!"

Leo stopped in his tracks and stared at Raph. Raphael slowly started to edge backwards. Leo tensed a bit and tentatively took one step closer.

"I said DON'T MOVE!" Raph screamed, glancing at each of his brothers. "None of you move!" They all stared at him, but none of them dared to try and approach him. Not after what they had seen him try and do to Michelangelo.

Suddenly a deep voice cut the silence. "What is going on here?" Splinter asked as he walked into the room. Raphael's eyes grew panicked and he chucked one of his sai at Splinter. Leonardo gasped as the three sharp blade tips cut into Splinter's arm.

Then Raphael turned around and bolted out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm on a roll recently, this is the third chapter this week! See if you can guess who the mystery person at the end of the chapter is! :D**

**I do not own TMNT.**

Donatello looked around in dismay. Raphael had destroyed the family they had worked so hard to build. Michelangelo remained huddled in the corner, his foot slowly dripping blood onto the floor. Leonardo was still staring at where Raphael had disappeared.

"What happened here?" Splinter asked, his beady eyes flickering around the room.

Leonardo and Michelangelo showed no sign of speaking, so Donatello took it upon himself to explain what had happened. "Raphael attacked Mikey," Donatello said quietly, "Then me and Leo came in and Raph attacked us too. He...he was about to kill me when the lights flickered out. Then they came back on and Raph was running towards the exit. I guess you know the rest."

Splinter nodded slowly, his eyes troubled. "Take care of your brothers Donatello. I must meditate on this," he said roughly before he turned around and went into his room, slamming the door behind him.

As Donatello walked over to Michelangelo, his younger brother cringed a little. Donatello sighed. It would be a long time before they all were back to their regular old selves.

If they ever went back to their regular old selves.

"Donny..." Leo mumbled. "I don't feel so good..." Leo stumbled backwards a little bit before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell on the floor with a thud.

"Leo!" Donatello rushed over. That was when he noticed the three long gashes on Leonardo's head. Donatello had almost forgotten about them. Leonardo must have fainted from blood loss, judging by the red fluid pooling around his head.

"Mikey, help me bring Leo over to the couch." Donatello said, grabbing one of Leonardo's arms. Michelangelo hesitated before he finally stood up on shaky legs. Mikey reached down to grab Leo's other arm, but suddenly Leo groaned. Mikey reeled back and fell on the floor. Donatello realized that in his current state, Michelangelo would be of no help. Donatello grabbed both of Leo's arms and started to drag him across the room. He had only gotten a few feet when he paused to take a break. Sweat was dripping down his face.

"Seriously, does Leo have a bag of rocks stashed in his shell or something?" Donny muttered. Finally he managed to lift Leo up onto the couch.

Donny grabbed a roll of bandaging cloth and started to wrap it around Leo's head. He had a hard time getting the bandage to cover the wound without also covering Leo's eyes, but eventually he figured it out. Michelangelo had gone back to huddling in the corner and staring at him. Once Donatello was sure that the bandages were secure, and that he hadn't missed any wounds, he turned around to face Michelangelo. Donatello felt a pang of sympathy. His little brother looked like a trapped animal. His eyes were filled with fear and he was rocking back and forth.

"Hey. Mikey." Donny said quietly. Michelangelo's head snapped up. "You hurt?"

Michelangelo nodded and pointed to a set of stab marks in his foot. _But he's also hurt on the inside._ Donny thought. His normally chatty brother was totally silent. Donatello wrapped the rest of the bandage he had around Michelangelo's foot.

"Thanks." Mikey whispered. Donny nodded, smiling a little.

"Hey, everything is going to be fine. Leo will heal and so will you." Donatello said.

"What about Raph?" Michelangelo said quietly.

"I..." Donatello trailed off. What would happen to Raph? Obviously he wasn't coming back-even if he wanted to, Donatello had a feeling Leonardo wouldn't welcome him with open arms. "I don't know," Donatello finally said with a sigh. Then he paused for a moment before tentatively asking, "Hey Mikey? What happened in there? I mean, do you have any idea why Raph was trying to kill you?"

"I-I don't know." Mikey stammered. "I mean, he was a little upset, but we were totally cool. And then all of a sudden, he just lunged at me. It's like he lost control of himself or something."

Donatello frowned in confusion. None of this was making any sense; why would Raph just randomly lunge at Mikey? The pieces weren't fitting together.

Suddenly Leo groaned from the other side of the room. "My head..." he muttered as he tried to sit up.

"Hey, you're awake!" Donatello said cheerily.

"I feel a little light-headed." Leonardo said as he put one hand on his head.

"Probably because you lost so much blood." Donatello said.

"Leo, what are we gonna do about Raphael?" Michelangelo said quietly. Leonardo's eyes narrowed a bit and his face was filled with anger.

"What are we gonna do about him?" Leonardo spat. "Well, brother or no brother, he tried to kill all of us. I guess we have to face facts."

"Raphael is an enemy."

* * *

Raphael ran down the street. It was dark and nobody was outside this late at night. He knew he should have been more careful. Anybody who happened to be up late tonight could see him running down the street. He was in plain sight, but heck, he didn't care. He tried hard not to look at the blood stains on his sai.

_What is wrong with me?_

What he really wanted was an answer to the question, but nothing made any sense. So he just kept on running, trying to get as far away from his brothers as possible.

His plan was simple. Get far, far away. That way he would be safe from his brothers, who were probably going to come hunting for him, and they would be safe from him.

_I can't risk staying there. Not until I find out how to fix this mess I'm caught up in._

He may have said quite a few unkind words to his brothers, but he cared about them, even if he rarely showed it. And if him being there was going to put them in danger, then he would leave.

Finally he paused for a moment. As he caught his breath, he tried to think. _Where can I get answers?_

_Nowhere._

Raphael kicked a stop sign angrily an grunted unhappily. It was time to face facts; nobody could answer any of his questions. Suddenly a familiar voice came from the rooftop above him.

"Well well well, look who's come up from the sewers."


	7. Chapter 7

**I had more time to write, so I wrote another chapter today. :D Sorry that I didn't give too many people a chance to guess at whom the mystery person at the end of the last chapter was. Oh well. I'm sure that you'd all prefer another chapter to getting a chance to guess at who the mystery girl is. As always, I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it!**

**I do not own TMNT.**

"You!" Raphael spat, glaring at the girl on the rooftop above him.

"I see you've been busy." She smirked, looking at his sai. "I thought it was against your morals to unnecessarily harm your enemy, but apparently you forgot that, judging by the bloodstains on your sai." Her feet dangled lazily over the edge of the rooftop, and Raphael had an urge to stab them, but he resisted. He had already harmed enough people today.

"Shut up Karai." He muttered, kicking the stop sign again. Karai jumped off the rooftop and took out her katanas.

"So, ready to get beat to a pulp?" Karai said, holding up her swords in an offensive pose. Raphael flinched. _That's what Leo said…_

"Just go back to the Foot Clan Karai." Raph said angrily, turning around and storming down the street.

"Since when do you back down from a fight Raphael?" Karai smirked. "I thought you were the one who loved battle."

"Just SHUT UP!" Raphael snarled, his eyes filled with anger. "I don't want to battle anybody right now!"

Karai watched Raphael carefully. "I can see that it worked." She chuckled. "I was convinced that it wouldn't, but looks like you proved me wrong."

"What are you talking about Karai?" Raphael rolled his eyes. But suddenly everything snapped into place. "Wait a minute – you know about it, don't you!" he said, his eyes widening.

"I do know why your sai have bloodstains on them." She said. "And I'll tell you more if you'll do something for me."

Raphael's eyes grew angry. With a shout of fury he rushed up to her and grabbed her by the throat. "I'm going to kill you!" he screamed, "How could you make me try and kill my own brothers?!" Karai gasped, trying to breathe, and Raphael tightened his grip.

"Wait! It wasn't me!" Karai choked out.

Raphael threw Karai onto the pavement and pointed his sai at her throat. "Ok Karai, give me some answers." He said, his eyes still filled with fury. "Or I really will kill you."

Karai held her hands up to her throat, wheezing for breath. "It was Shredder." She said hoarsely. "Shredder and Baxter Stockman." Blood oozed from where her head had hit the pavement.

"What did they do to me?" Raphael said angrily, still holding his sai dangerously close to Karai's throat. "Start back at the rooftop fight with the Foot Clan."

"You need answers from me," Karai said with a defiant glare, "And I can't tell you them if I'm dead, now can I? You aren't going to kill me. You need me."

"You wanna bet?" Raphael said, edging his sai closer to that the tips brushed against Karai's throat. Karai glared up at him. Raphael found him doubting himself.

_Would I really kill Karai?_

* * *

Leonardo realized he was staring at where Raphael had disappeared. Again. With a groan he flopped down onto the couch. Leo couldn't decide exactly how he felt; there were too many emotions churning inside him for him to really know what he was feeling.

He was angry at Raphael for attempting to kill all of them, but at the same time he was scared; Raphael was never that violent, and he hadn't seemed to be very upset beforehand. Something was missing; Raph didn't just randomly get that angry. Something had happened, something that set him off. But what it was, Leo had no idea.

All he knew was that he had to keep his brothers safe, and that if Raphael was threatening all of them, then he was an enemy. Leonardo felt sick to his stomach.

Suddenly Leo heard sobs coming from the corner of the room. He looked up and saw that Michelangelo was still huddled in the corner of the room that he had been in since Raphael left…which was only a few hours ago. Tears were streaming down Mikey's face.

"Mikey? What's the matter?" Leonardo said gently. He got up off the couch, which was quite painful, but he ignored the pain and went over to sit down next to Michelangelo.

"I don't know, I just-" Michelangelo took in a quick short breath before continuing, "-can't get the image of Raphael holding his sai above my throat out of my head."

Leo wrapped his arms around Michelangelo. "Hey, it's going to be fine," Leonardo said as he comforted his younger brother, "We're all going to be ok."

"All of us?" Michelangelo said, "What about Raph?"

"Mikey, Raphael is the enemy now," Leonardo said, a trace of anger in his voice, "We can't let ourselves feel sorry for him. If we want to win this battle, then we can't fight Raphael with pity in our hearts. Don't feel sorry for him."

Michelangelo blinked away the tears. "I just can't help it. He's my brother," Michelangelo sniffled, "I want him back. I want him home."

"It's time to put our sympathy behind us Mikey." Leo said, straightening up, "We are going to win this battle." Then he hesitated for a moment._ I have to protect my brothers. If Raphael wants a war, then he's going to get one._

"Whatever it takes, we are going to win this battle."


	8. Chapter 8

**I still do not own TMNT.**

April leaned out her windowsill, letting the wind hit her face. The stars glowed above her. The curtains blew back and caressed her gently. She sighed. High school was hard, especially when you were also training to be a Kuniochi and helping a group of mutant turtles save the city at the same time.

She looked at the math problems that were still on her desk in her room. The problems were hard, and April felt brain-dead. She wondered when she could sneak out of the house again to go see the turtles and train some more with Splinter.

Suddenly April heard some shouts from down the streets. Her heartbeat sped up a little bit. If someone was in danger, then maybe she could test out her Kuniochi skills and try to help them. She leaned out of the windowsill further and narrowed her eyes, looking down the street.

She saw two vague silhouettes on the sidewalk. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. "Raphael?" she shouted, "Is that you?"

* * *

Raphael heard someone shout his name and looked up in surprise. _April?_ Karai took the chance to get up and bolt away. Raphael turned around and started to chase her, but realized it would be pointless. Karai had too much of a head start. Growling with frustration, he whipped around and looked up at April, who was leaning out of her windowsill.

"Hey Raph! Where are your brothers?" she asked, shouting from her room on the top floor of the house.

Raphael was frustrated, but realized that a great opportunity had just come up. Raphael climbed up the escape ladder and looked at April closely. Well, so far so good. The headaches weren't forming like they did when he was around his brothers…

"So, what's up?" April asked. Raphael shrugged. Then an awkward silence hung in the air. Of all the turtles, he had talked to April the least. Raphael didn't exactly feel…_comfortable_ around any humans.

"April, can I ask you something?" Raphael asked.

"Uh, sure, shoot!" she said.

"You have to blindfold me, take me somewhere far away, and make sure I have no idea where the heck I am," Raphael said in a serious tone.

"Are you serious?" she said, her eyes doubtful, "Or are are you just messing with me?"

"I'm serious April. And you have to do it now," Raphael said urgently. April blinked in surprise. She searched his eyes, trying to see if he was really serious. She saw desperation and panic in them.

"I'll do my best." She said doubtfully.

"Good." Raphael said, giving her a nod. April threw on a jean jacket and grabbed a bandana. Raphael helped her onto the fire escape ladder and they slowly climbed down.

* * *

"You're sure that you want to do this?" April asked as she jumped off the ladder.

"Yes. Now hurry up!" Raph snapped. Suddenly April heard the rumble of an engine. She furrowed her brow in confusion and glanced at Raphael. Raph's pupils had shrunk and sweat was pouring down his face.

"Who would be driving this late at night?" she said scornfully.

"GET IN!" Raph screamed, opening the door to April's grandparent's car and shoving her in. April stumbled on fell face first on the seat. When she finally got back up, Raphael was in the passenger seat, tying the bandana around his eyes.

"April, are you in drivers school?" Raphael asked.

"Um, yeah." She said nervously.

"Good, then you can drive a car. Now step on it!" he growled.

"But I don't have the keys!"

"Just hotwire it!"

April fumbled with the wires and sweat poured down her face as the rumble of the engine got louder. "Who are we running from?" she asked, smiling with satisfaction when the car rumbled to life.

"It doesn't matter. Just get out of here!" Raphael said in a desperate tone.

April stepped on the gas pedal and the car lurched forward. Looking in the side mirror she saw a familiar shell-shaped car gaining ground behind them. "We're running from your brothers?!" she said in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Just go FASTER!" Raphael screamed.

"How do they know that you're in this car?" April asked, turning sharply at a corner.

"I don't know!" Raphael growled. Suddenly a beep came from Raphael's belt. "What the shell-"

"Your T-phone!" April gasped, "There's a tracking device in it, isn't there?"

"Crap, you're right!" Raphael said, smacking his face. "Quick April, take it and chuck it out the window."

"I still don't know why you're running from your brothers." April said. Then as she reached back to grab the T-phone, April realized that she was headed straight for a brick wall, but she realized it too late. Before she could even push on the brake pedal, the car collided with the wall. April saw the pieces of glass shatter and the airbag blow up, but then the world turned totally black.


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow. That got loooong. So anyways, I posted a fanfiction trailer for this story on youtube. Please watch it and add a comment or favorite! Type this in the youtube search bar to find it**_**: TMNT – Monster Fanfiction Trailer Aquamarine1225. **_**That's about it. Hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own TMNT.**

Leo slammed on the brakes and their car skidded to a halt in front of the flaming van. "Wow. What a getaway." He said sarcastically, trying to lighten the sullen mood that his brothers had been in ever since they left the hideout. Donatello just gave him an obviously fake smile and Michelangelo didn't even respond. Changing their moods would be hard.

Leo narrowed his eyes as the door to the van was flung open. Raphael jumped out of the van, but Leo noticed that he wasn't alone. He was dragging a body out of the passenger side of the van. Leonardo grimaced. _Dear God, please don't tell me he actually killed someone this time._

"Oh my God!" Donatello screamed in horror. Leonardo turned back to face him. Donny's eyes were filled with panic. "He killed April!"

Leonardo whipped around, his heart racing, and realized Donatello was right; the body Raphael was dragging out of the van was April.

"He's a psychopath!" Donny screamed. Leonardo grabbed his katanas and flew out of their car. He charged into the smoke towards Raphael. With a shout of fury Leonardo pulled back his fist and delivered a hard punch to Raphael's head. Raphael yelped with surprise and reeled backwards, disappearing into the smoke. Donatello rushed forwards and kneeled next to April. "My princess is ALIVE!" he said, a huge grin splitting his face.

Suddenly a scream pierced the air. "NO!"

Raphael suddenly lunged out of nowhere, his sai raised and ready to fight. "Oh cra-" Donatello was cut off as Raphael tackled him and they both disappeared into the heavy smoke. Leonardo could hear shouts and the clash of weapons. April coughed, and Leonardo spun around. April's eyes were fluttering open.

"April! Are you hurt?" Leo asked.

"No…wait, Leo?" April said, her eyes widening. "Where's Raphae-"

Suddenly Leonardo felt a horrible pain in his arm. April screamed and Leonardo turned around to see Raphael behind him. Raph's sai was delved into Leo's arm. Leonardo yanked himself away from Raphael and drew his swords. They both stood there for a tense moment, waiting for the other to strike. Leonardo could see conflict in Raphael's eyes, and for a moment he thought maybe, just maybe that his brother had returned to sanity.

He brushed off his thoughts as Raphael charged towards him. Leonardo swung out his fist at the last second, causing Raphael to fall onto the ground. But as quickly as he had fallen, Raphael got back up and lunged at Leonardo again. Leonardo held up his swords and their weapons clashed. Leonardo glared at Raphael, and Raph returned his steady gaze. The smoke started to clear, and time seemed to freeze as Leonardo looked to his left.

There, sprawled out on the pavement, was Donatello. A pool of blood was forming underneath him. "No!" Leo screamed, the words coming out of his mouth without him even thinking about them. He felt a burst of rage inside of himself, and slashed open Raphael's shoulder with his sword, the blood spraying from the wound.

Raphael barley even registered the wound as he smiled manically and rose up his fist. Leonardo felt Raph's fist collide with his skull, and his legs buckled. As he fell, he saw the embers from the fire fly through air. That was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.

* * *

April watched in horror as Raphael raised his sai over Leonardo's throat, ready to plunge it in and kill him. What had happened to him? He had been so calm and collected only a few minutes ago. Now suddenly he was in a state of rage.

"STOP!" April screamed just as Raphael was about to put the sai into Leonardo's neck. Raphael whipped around and glared at April, his eyes filled with fury, but there was also a hint of panic and desperation in them, as if he himself couldn't believe what he was doing.

"Stay out of this!" he growled.

"Raphael, what are you doing!?" April said, her voice hoarse and rough from the smoke, "Why would you try and kill your own brothers?"

Raphael blinked a few times, the fury melting out of his eyes and being replaced by horror. He stared at his blood-stained sai. April thought she might have actually seen tears forming in his eyes.

"I don't know." Raphael whispered, almost as if talking to himself. He turned around and disappeared into the shadows. April opened her mouth to call him back, but thought better of it and remained silent. Slowly she stood up, her legs still shaking, and walked over to Donatello. For a split second she thought he was dead and panicked. But she quickly realized that his chest was still gently rising and falling.

April collapsed on the pavement next to Donatello and started to sob, her body shaking violently. They were all hurt badly, especially Donatello_. But wait…_April's head shot up and her tears stopped coming as the sudden realization hit her.

Michelangelo wasn't there.

* * *

Raphael slipped onto the roof of the church. Carefully he opened one of the skylights. The church was a perfect hideout. After all, who would suspect a clan of evil ninjas to live in such a peaceful building? Raph never would have guessed it. How convenient of Karai to lead him there unknowingly.

He peered down into the building. Dogpound and Fishface were talking casually in the corner of the huge room. Shredder was sitting on his 'throne' and Karai was kneeled in front of him, telling him something, but Raphael couldn't hear her. Well, he didn't care about what she was telling him anyways. Carefully he positioned himself, locking his eyes onto Karai. He could feel his heart throbbing in his chest. _I have to do this. Time to get answers. Here goes nothing._

With a shout, Raphael jumped down. Karai looked at him in surprise, frozen for a moment. Raphael took the chance to knock away her weapons. Then he grabbed her shoulder with one hand and held his sai up to her throat with the other.

Fishface and Dogpound stared at him in shock, their jaws hanging open in surprise. Raphael ignored them and glared at Shredder, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Ok Shredder, tell me exactly what you've done to my mind, or your precious daughter won't live to see another sunrise!" Raphael snarled. He could feel Karai trembling as he edged his sai closer to her throat.

Shredder let out a deep, menacing laugh. "You amuse me." He said darkly. "Your stupidity is entertaining."

"Just answer my question." Raph said through clenched teeth, trying very hard not to explode with rage. "What did you do to me?"

"All your questions will be answered in good time." Shredder growled.

"I want answers. NOW!" Raphael yelled and brough his sai so close to Karai's throat that the tips were touching her skin. Karai looked at her father with, large, frightened eyes.

Shredder laughed. "You wouldn't kill her."

"Watch me!" Raph growled, but he realized Shredder was right. No matter how much he hated Karai, he wouldn't take anyone's life just because he didn't get what he wanted. He just hoped that he could fool Shredder into thinking he would. Suddenly Shredder stood up and began to walk towards Raphael.

"Don't come any closer or I'll kill her!" Raph yelled, but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. Shredder didn't even pause.

"What are you doing?!" Karai shrieked. "Do you want him to kill me?!"

Shredder didn't stop until he was looming over Raphael. "You don't have it in you to take anyone's life." Shredder sneered. "That is your weakness. That is why we had to poison you. How else could we get you to turn against your brothers? You were the perfect target. After all, you are the most temperamental of the turtles. It's much more believable that you would try and kill your brothers than any of the others."

Raphael's head was spinning. Images flashed through his head. The long, sharp thing he had seen on the rooftop battle with the Foot clan; it was a needle. The headaches were obviously from the poison. It had altered his mind, made him desperately want; no, need to kill his brothers. It all made sense now; what better way to get rid of your enemies than to turn them against each other, destroying them from within?

Raph suddenly snapped out of his daze as he felt someone grasp his hands. He realized too late that a foot ninja had snuck up behind him and tied his hands together.

_Crap. This can't be happening._

He frantically yanked at the rope holding his hands together, feeling the bristles digging into his flesh. Karai reeled away from him, holding her hand up to her throat where his sai had been.

The ninja laughed and kicked Raphael's heels. "Move along scum!" he sneered.

Nobody noticed the orange-masked silhouette slip out of the double doors.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey people! I'm writing the next chapter, finally! I hope that you're all enjoying my story as it continues to unfold. I'd also like to point out that I've decided this story is taking place in between the season finale of season 1 and the first episode of season 2, just to clear that up.**

**I do not own TMNT. I wish I did.**

"Guys!"

Leonardo looked up in surprise as Michelangelo ran into their hideout, sweat pouring down his face. Donatello practically jumped out of his chair, causing the bandaging April had been wrapping around his head to fall off.

"Where the heck have you been? We were all worried that…" Donatello trailed off, but they all knew what he was going to say. We were all worried that Raphael killed you.

"Guys, I know where Raph is!" Michelangelo said, his eyes shining with excitement. "Shredder has him!"

April, who had been drinking a glass of water, spat it out in surprise and started coughing. "What?!" she sputtered, water still dripping down her face. "Shredder?!"

"And that's not all! Shredder said something about a poison; I think they have something to do with Raphael acting all weird lately." Mikey said. "Do you know what that means? It's not Raph's fault that he's a psychopath!" Mikey put his arms up and grinned.

"Mikey…" Leonardo said with a sigh, but Michelangelo turned to him, his eyes angry.

"I know what I heard Leo!" he said defensively. "I'm not joking. Do you seriously think I would be joking about something like this?!"

Donatello glanced at April. "But Raph tried to kill April. What would Shredder have against April? I don't think that Shredder has anything to do with this Mikey." He said.

"Raph didn't try and kill me!" April protested.

"He ran the van into a brick wall, and you were in the van. I count that as attempting murder." Donatello said seriously.

"He didn't run the van into the wall, I did!" April said. The turtles looked at her in surprise.

"You WHAT?!" Donny said in shock. "Do you know how dangerous that was?! You could have been killed!"

"I didn't try to." April said, rolling her eyes. "I was reaching over to grab Raph's T-phone and didn't realize I was headed for the wall until it was too late."

"Why were you trying to get Raph's T-phone?" Leo asked.

"He told me to chuck it out the window." April said nervously, knowing that she wasn't telling the whole story. _They would flip out if they knew I was helping Raphael escape from them._

"Why couldn't he do it himself?" Donny said angrily. "There, mystery solved. He distracted you so that you would run into the wall and die."

"He didn't know there was a brick wall up ahead! How could he? He was blindfolded!" April screamed, losing her temper for a second.

"He was blindfolded?! Were you trying to kidnap him or something?" Donny asked in surprise.

"No, he told me to blindfold him!" April said. "Look, the car accident had nothing to do with him! It was my fault!" April let out an angry huff and brought her knees up to her chin.

"See?" Mikey smirked. "I was right! Raphael wasn't trying to kill April, and he was running away from us! Shredder did something to him, I just know it!"

"Mikey, just shut up!" Leo growled. "You're giving us all false hope!" There was pain in Leonardo's eyes as he spoke. "Raph is trying to kill us, so it's us or him. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather that we survived, because if we die than nobody is going to protect the city!"

Everyone fell silent for a moment, letting Leo's words sink in. Mikey bit his lip. "Fine then. You go ahead and protect yourselves, since you're all so important. I'm going to go help Raph."

"Mikey, no!" Donatello shouted, but Michelangelo was already gone. Donatello turned to Leonardo. "Great job Leo." He said sarcastically. "Now there are only two of us left." Donny grabbed the bandage wrap and stormed into his room, slamming the door.

"It's not my fault that Mikey ran off!" Leonardo yelled angrily. "You guys are just always looking for ways to shun me! Well I don't need any of this!" Leonardo got up and skulked off into the sewers, leaving April sitting in the hideout by herself. April looked around in despair. She could almost feel the tension in the air.

"Ah, April. Where are your friends?" Splinter walked into the room and placed his hand on April's shoulder comfortingly.

"Mikey thinks that he can help Raphael, so he ran off. Donatello yelled at Leonardo, and Leonardo went off into the sewers by himself." April sighed, burying her face in her hands. "It seems like everything is going wrong, and I feel like it's my fault."

"Why would it be your fault April?" Splinter asked.

"Because I helped Raphael escape. Maybe if I had just let Leo and the rest of them deal with him, none of this would have happened." April sighed.

"Do you think you did the right thing?" Splinter asked.

April paused for a moment. "Well….yes." she admitted. "I think Mikey might be onto something. I don't think that any of this is really Raph's fault."

"Then it is not your fault that my sons have been split apart." Splinter said. "It is their own."

"What do you think Splinter?" April asked. "Do you think that we should give Raphael another chance?"

Splinter paused. "I think that we should not give up on him just yet." Splinter said carefully. "But we should also be careful. We do not know if Raphael can be saved. I want my son back as much as anyone. But that does not mean I will be foolish."

April nodded as Splinter left the room. Taking a deep breath, she approached Donatello's room. _I'm the only one that all the turtles will listen to. I'm the only one that can bring my friends back together._

_I have to try. _


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or commented on this story. Thank you all for your continued support! It means a lot to me. :)**

**I do not own TMNT.**

The room was dark. The only light came from the crack underneath the metal door. A groan came from the corner of the room, and two green eyes slowly blinked open. Raphael looked around, his heart slowing down when he realized he was alone. He placed his hand on his arm, but quickly pulled it away when he felt a hot, sticky substance.

_Blood._

Raph ripped off his mask and tied it around his arm where the cuts were, but he quickly discovered that he had cuts on both his arms, his legs, and even his head.

Suddenly it came rushing back. Raphael screamed and kicked the wall. _This wasn't supposed to happen! _He winced as he felt blood trickling down his face. Why hadn't they killed him yet? Shredder obviously wanted all of them dead. But no, instead he had sent in a foot ninja last night and he had been cut and whipped. But not killed.

"Just kill me already!" he screamed at the wall.

"Sorry, but I can't do that. It'd be against Shredder's orders."

Raphael whipped around as he saw a girl enter the room. He closed his eyes in pain as the blinding light flooded into the room, but the door was quickly shut and he peered into the darkness. "Not you again." he growled. "I suppose you're here to torture me some more."

Karai narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "No." she said. "It looks like the foot ninja did a pretty good job of that last night." Karai sat down in the opposite corner of the room. _If only these stupid chains weren't holding me back. _Raphael thought. _Then I could kill her and get out of here. _Raphael glared at her, hatred in his eyes.

"So why did you come in here? To keep me company?" Raphael said sarcastically. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

"No, stupid, I'm here to give you food so you don't starve to death." Karai said, tossing a piece of bread over to him.

"Oh, how kind of you." Raphael smirked. "But I'm not hungry." He kicked the bread away from him. The truth was that he was starving. But for whatever reason Shredder was keeping him alive for, Raphael didn't want to find out. It was not going to be anything good, that he knew.

"You're even more heroic than I thought." Karai said quietly. "Willing to starve yourself to save your brothers? That's the ultimate sacrifice. Too bad I have to sit in here until you eat it."

Raphael glared at her. "Then I guess you'll be sitting in here for a long time."

Karai sighed. "I thought you'd say that." Before Raphael could even react, Karai had already plunged a needle into his arm.

"You piece of crap!" Raph screamed. "What did you just do to me?!"

"Sleeping shot." Karai smirked. "Sorry I had to do that."

"No you're not..." Raphael started to feel dizzy and he lunged at Karai, missing by a good foot. The edges of his vision were starting to turn black, and he struggled to stay awake. But finally the sleeping shot won over and he collapsed on the floor, the world turning black.

* * *

Raphael blinked open his eyes to find that Karai was still sitting in the corner of the room, polishing her sword. The piece of bread was gone, which probably meant that Karai had forced him to eat it in his sleep. Angrily Raph kicked the wall, causing Karai's head to jerk up.

"Oh. You're awake." Karai said.

Raphael glared at her and felt around on his belt. His sai were gone. _Well what were you expecting? Nobody leaves a prisoner in their room with weapons!_ He groped around the floor, looking for something, anything, that could be used as a weapon. He picked up a sharp rock and chucked it at Karai's head.

"Ow!" she flinched, "What was that for?"

Raphael picked up another rock and threw it at Karai. This time it hit her right in between the eyes. "Hey!" Karai chucked the rock back at Raphael, but he quickly ducked and it whizzed right over his head. Raphael laughed. He knew that he probably shouldn't be teasing her like this, considering that she had weapons and he didn't, but he was going to die anyways, so why not?

"That's it, I'm coming over there and-" Karai was cut off as there was a pounding on the door. "Who the heck is that?" she said, clearly irritated.

"I was sent by Shredder." a deep voice said on the other side of the door. Raph froze._ No. That's impossible. How the heck could he get here?_

Karai rolled her eyes and stalked over the door, flinging it open. Raph forced himself to keep his eyes open. Because if that was who he thought it was...

Karai screamed, but Raphael still couldn't see anything. The light was too bright, and it was blinding him. There was the sound of a weapon twirling in the air. Raphael could feel his heart beating faster and faster.

"Booyakasha!"

"Mikey?!" Raph yelled his name in shock. Raphael's eyes had finally adjusted, and now he could see that Karai was lying unconscious on the floor, and Mikey was standing in the doorway.

"Raphael!" Mikey said, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"What the heck are you doing here?!" Raph said in shock.

"What do you mean, 'What are you doing here?'? Saving you, obviously!" Mikey said as he slid the knives out of the ends of his nunchucks.

"But-Why would you save me? I tried to kill you!" Raphael said, his head spinning. Of all the things he had expected, this was definitely not one of them. Mikey had started working on the chains that were holding him to the wall.

"These things are rock-solid." Mikey muttered to himself, before turning to look up at Raphael. "Why would I save you? Because you're my brother, dummy." Mikey said jokingly. "And I think I'm onto Shredder. He did something to you, didn't he?"

Raphael nodded numbly, letting it sink in. Suddenly he heard footsteps. "Mikey, you have to get out of here!" Raph hissed under his breath.

"I'm not leaving without you." Mikey said as he continued to saw at the chains in determination.

"Look, there's more hope left for you than for me." Raph said, putting his hands on Mikey's shoulders. "You have to get out of here while you have the chance. Who knows what horrible things Shredder will do to you if he catches you. He might make me kill you!"

"I told you that I'm not leaving without you!" Mikey said, raising his voice and working harder at the chains.

"Get out of here!" Raphael screamed, kicking Mikey away from him._ The longer Mikey is in the room with me, the more danger he's in. Not just from the foot clan, but also from myself. Who knows how much longer I can control myself? _Suddenly there was a loud voice in the doorway.

"Well well well, who do we have here?"


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own TMNT.**

"Don't come a step closer or you'll regret it!"

Raphael glared at the fish mutant in the doorway. Michelangelo glanced at him before slipping back over to Raphael and continuing to saw at the chains. Raph gave him an angry glance, but didn't stop him. Obviously Mikey wasn't going to listen to him.

"So, now we've got two turtles here." Fishface laughed, leaning in the door frame.

"You're not going to get him." Raphael growled, standing protectively in front of Mikey.

"Don't have to." Fishface sneered. "You'll do the dirty work for me."

Raphael felt his heart sink in his chest as he realized Fishface was right. Now he couldn't protect his brother from anyone_. So there are two options here; I can kill Mikey, or I can let Fishface have him. Not too terribly different from each other._

Fishface took a step into the room, and Raphael stared at him coldly. "Mikey, Fishface is right." Raphael said in a strangely calm voice. "You're not safe with me."

"But I can't just abandon you!" Mikey said, his voice growing desperate.

"Mikey, I promise you that I'll come back." Raphael growled. "You just have to get out of here."

Fishface stared at Raphael and smirked. Raphael glared at him, hatred in his eyes. "I swear, if you lay hand on him, I'm going to personally hunt you down and kill you slowly and painfully!" Raphael hissed angrily. He felt pain knowing at the back of his head, but ignored it. This was too important of a time to have a mental breakdown.

"How do you plan on doing that from the inside of a prison cell?" Fishface laughed cruelly.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Raphael said with a grin. "You don't want to mess with me."

Suddenly Michelangelo burst out from behind Raphael and bolted towards the door. Fishface quickly blocked his path and kicked out just as Mikey approached. Mikey was flung across the room and he hit the wall with a sickening thud.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Raphael screamed, struggling and jerking at the chains. Fishface laughed and picked Mikey up by his neck. Raph pulled on the chains harder, and he felt the shackles digging into his wrists. _More cuts on my wrists._

"There's nothing you can do Raphael." Fishface said with a smirk. Mikey clawed at Fishfaces hands and let out desperate choking sounds. His eyes were bulging and he tried to breathe through Fishface's tight grip.

"No!" Raphael screamed and strained harder against the chains, harder, harder…Suddenly one of them snapped. _Huh. I guess that all that sawing Mikey was doing actually worked._

Raphael lunged at Fishface and used his now-unchained hand to sock Fishface in the head. Fishface stumbled backwards and released Mikey, causing him to collapse on the floor. Mikey gulped in air and his whole body was trembling.

"Nobody hurts my brother!" Raphael roared in rage, struggling against the other chain that was still intact. He could feel the rage inside him boiling, and the headaches were getting stronger.

"You're stronger than I thought." Fishface said, looking at Raphael suspiciously. "But not strong enough."

Suddenly a group of foot ninjas burst into the room. "Nobody move!" one of them said in a commanding voice. Another one ran forward and bound Mikey's hands together and started to remove his weapons. One of them started to approach Raph, but he glared at them with such intensity that they quickly backed up.

"Shredder will be pleased with our latest development." Fishface said with a smirk as he stood up.

"What are you going to do with my brother?" Raphael growled, glowering with rage.

"Oh don't worry. We won't kill him. We'll leave that to you Raphael." Fishface laughed.

"No!" Raphael screamed as the foot ninjas quickly dragged Mikey out of the room. Raph met Mikey's desperate eyes for a split second, but then Fishface shut the door behind him, engulfing the room in darkness. Raphael crawled over to the corner of the room and pulled his knees up to his chest. He could feel tears building up in his eyes. _Well, there's nobody here. May as well cry while no one's watching._ Burying his face in his hands, he started to sob.

_This is all my fault._

* * *

"Donny?"

April stood in Donatello's room, looking around at all the wires and electronics piled on the shelves. Donatello was scribbling on a piece of paper while he sat on his bed. He looked up in surprise.

"Oh-April!" he said in surprise, his cheeks growing a little red. "What are you doing here?"

"I know you're mad at Leonardo…" April said as she walked over to the bed and sat next to Donny. "But we have to work together if we want to help Raphael."

"You really think that we can help Raph? He seems pretty far over the edge to me." Donatello said doubtfully, but there was a flicker of hope in his eyes.

"Well we'll never know if we don't try." April said with a smile, causing Donny to blush even more. Suddenly the door was flung open and Leonardo ran inside, his eyes panicked.

"Donny! April! You are not going to believe the insanely stupid thing Mikey just did!" he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"What is it?" Donatello said, standing up and staring at Leonardo. April felt a sinking feeling in her chest. _Please don't tell me…._

"He went into Shredder's hideout after Raph!"


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own TMNT.**

The rest of the day was a daze and Donatello stumbled through it, remaining silent unless he was asked to speak. His mind was running through…well everything. April kept on sending concerned glances at him. Normally Donatello would be thrilled that April was showing some concern for him, but now he barely even registered it.

Donatello was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind still buzzing with thoughts. He could feel that horrible sick feeling in his stomach that meant that he was about to think about something he would rather not. Quickly he tried to think of something pleasant, but it was in vain. He bit back a wail as images of Raphael and Michelangelo covered in blood, chained to the walls of a concrete room filled his head. For a moment even his vision was blotted out with the horrifying picture. Raphael's green eyes were panicked, looking for somewhere to escape, but Donatello knew that there was no escape. Not from what he was trying to run from. _Himself._

Donatello sat up on his bed, tears streaming down his cheeks_. I was crying?_ He hadn't even realized it. He rushed over to his desk, turning on the lamp and causing dim light to fill the room. Shoving aside recipes for possible antidotes of mutation, he cleared a spot on his desk and started to make a list of things they could have done to Raphael:

_ -mind control_

_ -brain alteration_

_ -food poisoning_

_ -blood poisoning_

Staring at the list, Donatello scribbled out brain alteration. That would have taken a long time, and he had started acting weird ever since the rooftop battle with the foot. They couldn't have performed surgery that quickly. Mind control was a possibility. Food poisoning was off the list since he hadn't eaten anything during the battle. Blood poisoning was possible. All it would take was a simple shot. But how could blood poisoning alter your brain? Scrambling for answers, Donatello racked through his brain. Something must have happened beforehand to hint at what Shredder was doing…

Donatello's mind flew to the incident the day before the rooftop battle. They had been doing a patrol of the sewers, and they thought they had heard footsteps…footsteps near the place where the parasitica wasp had been. And the body hadn't been there. Quickly he added another item to his list:

_ -Parasitica Wasp Poison?_

But Parasitica Wasp poison made the victim obsessed with protecting the egg, not killing their relatives. Groaning with frustration, Donatello kicked the wall.

"Having some trouble?"

Donatello whipped around to see April standing in the doorway. She walked in, her auburn air falling around her shoulders, and that's when Donatello cracked up. It was the absolute worst time to laugh, but Donny couldn't help it. April was wearing footie pajamas with little horses printed on them, along with a jean jacket.

April gave a fake gasp of insult. "What, you've never seen a girl in footies?" she said, trying to hide a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Donny asked, trying to swallow down the rest of his laughter.

"Couldn't sleep. So I decided to come here," She explained, "And I didn't have time to change, because my dad was coming upstairs, and he would freak if he saw me slipping out of the window in the middle of the night. So what are you doing?"

Donatello turned back to his desk with a sigh, the rest of his laughter being sucked out of him. "Trying to figure out what's wrong with Raphael," He said sullenly, "I remember the parasitica wasp body going missing the day before Raphael starting acting weird, but how could Shredder have used the parasitica wasp against Raphael?"

April walked over and looked at the list over Donatello's shoulder. Furrowing her eyebrows in thought, she continued to stare. "They could have easily gotten hold of the dead parasitica wasp and taken the remaining poison inside it." She suggested.

"But the poison makes the person obsessed with protecting an egg, not killing their brothers." Donatello said in frustration.

"Donatello. Think." April said, her face lighting up. "Who does Shredder have on his side?"

"Fishface. Dogpound. An army of foot ninjas," Donatello said, "Not much for scientists. Except for one person…" He trailed off and met April's eyes, and suddenly it struck him.

"Baxter Stockman!" Donny yelled, leaping out of his chair and throwing his arms in the air. "That has to be it! Shredder used Baxter to alter to the poison somehow!" April nodded, a smile plastered on her face. Donatello rushed over and grabbed a crumpled piece of paper off the floor, unfolding it and smoothing it out carefully.

"What's that?" April asked, leaning over to try and see it.

"The cure for the parasitica wasp poison." Donny said, excitement in his voice, "With a few alterations, I might be able to create a cure for Raphael. I'm going to need it to be stronger for one thing, because I don't know how much poison they put into Raph. Then I'm going to need some chemicals to guarantee whatever Baxter Stockman changed in the poison is cancelled out and destroyed."

"There's only one thing we need then." April said, biting her lip nervously. Donatello looked up at her, confusion painted in his expression. _What is she talking about?_

"We need to get to Raphael."


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone! Sorry that I haven't posted a new chapter for the past couple of days. Our internet connection wasn't working. But you shall wait no longer! Here is the next chapter!**

**I do not own TMNT.**

Michelangelo pounded his fists on the wall, and streaks of red started to smear on the concrete. "Let me out!" Mikey screamed. He didn't know if Fishface was still lurking outside, or even if he could hear him. But at this point he didn't even care..

"Mikey?"

Mikey froze as he heard a muffled voice on the other side of the wall. "Raph!" Mikey said happily, calming down a little bit.

"Are you ok?" Raph asked, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, I'm fine," Mikey sighed, "You?"

"I'm…ok." Raph said quietly, his voice trembling a little bit.

"What is it? What did they do?" Mikey demanded.

"Nothing!" Raph growled, a slight tremor still in his voice. "I'm fine."

"Are you…crying?" Mikey asked, a smile tugging at his lips_. I'm sick._ Mikey thought_. At a time like this I'm smiling about my brother crying?_

"I am not crying!" Raph yelled angrily, "You can't even see me, so how would you know?"

Mikey rolled his eyes. _Sometimes Raphael is too proud for his own good._ The room became eerily quiet, and Michelangelo shifted nervously, causing the chains on his feet to rattle. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

"…Raph?" Mikey said tentatively, his heart pounding in his chest. This reminded him of the first attack. The dead quiet. The way the air was tense and Raphael wasn't speaking. It brought him back to that day, and Mikey started to feel sick as he remembered the look on Raphael's face when he held the sai above his throat.

Raphael screamed. It started out at as a scream of pain, but slowly turned into a scream of hatred. "I'm going to KILL you!" Raph screamed, throwing his whole body against the wall, causing the whole room to tremble on its foundation. Mikey reeled backwards in terror and toppled onto the floor. Raphael continued to scream, and suddenly Michelangelo was grateful that there was a wall separating them.

"Raph, snap out of it!" Mikey hollered over the sound of Raphael pounding on the wall, and was just barely loud enough.

"I have to kill you! All of you!" Raph screamed, but there was a hint of confusion in his voice. "I have to kill you…!" Raphael's voice was wavering now and he fell silent for a moment. There was only the sound of Raphael breathing. Then suddenly a whisper broke the silence. "I'm a monster." Mikey could barely hear Raph's whisper through the concrete wall. Suddenly Mikey heard muffled sobs on the other side of the wall_._

"I'm sorry." Raphael gasped out in between sobs. ""I didn't mean it. Any of it."

"I know." Mikey said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "It's ok."

"No it's not!" Raphael growled, "This has to stop. They're going to made me kill you Mikey! KILL YOU! I can't control myself anymore. You heard me."

"We'll figure this out Raph." Mikey said, staring at the wall that separated them. _Be brave Raphael. Keep fighting. I'm not giving up on you yet. _

Suddenly there was a muffled cry from the other side of the wall. "Don't let me kill you!" Raphael screamed, "Do whatever it takes to stay alive!"

"Raph? Raph?!" Mikey's voice grew panicked and he started to pound on the wall, but it was too late.

Raph was gone.

* * *

Raphael stumbled behind the group of foot ninjas that had ushered him out of his prison cell. The harsh fluorescent lights hurt his eyes, and he squinted as he was led through the maze of hallways. The group stopped at a large door and Raph stared at it blankly.

"Have fun," one of the ninjas sneered and pushed Raphael into the room. Raph raised his fists defensively, his eyes wild with fear. But instead of enemies, there were shelves upon shelves of weapons, stretching in every direction. Raphael gaped, staring in awe at them. Where did they all come from?

The slam of the door snapped him out of his daze. "Hey! What the heck is this all about?" he yelled, jerking at the locked doorknob. After a lot of punching and yelling, Raphael gave up trying to escape and started to walk around the room, looking at all the weapons. He picked up a sai, turning it over in his hands. The tips were sharpened to a nearly perfect point and the metal was recently polished. He was starting to consider swiping a few weapons when a deep cackle came from above him.

_Shredder._

Raphael pointed the sai up at the ceiling and frantically tried to locate Shredder, but he remained hidden in the shadows, blending in perfectly.

"Take all the weapons you desire Raphael," Shredder hissed cruelly, "Consider it my treat."

_Something isn't right about this picture. Shredder giving me weapons?_ Raphael was suspicious, but he slipped a couple of sai into his belt nonetheless. He browsed through the weaponry, and as he reached out to grab a knife, suddenly he jerked his hand back as he came to a sudden realization.

_They are giving me weapons to kill my brothers._

"No! No!" Raphael screamed and chucked the knife he had picked up across the room. As he reached for another weapon, he paused. This wasn't the usual weapons he would fight with. This was a totally different type of weapon.

_A bag of poisonous berries._

Instead of throwing them to join his knife, which was lying on the floor, he stuffed them into his belt. Already a plan was forming in his mind.

_You want a show Shredder? Well I'll give you one you'll never forget._


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own TMNT.**

"According to my T-phone, Mikey should be just a couple blocks ahead."

Donatello's face was glued to the screen of his T-phone. Leonardo walked next to him with his swords drawn. His eyes flickered around the street. April walked next to Leonardo, biting her lip nervously.

"You have the antidote, right Donny?" April asked nervously.

"Yep, right here," Donny said, patting a lump in his belt where he had stashed it, "It should work."

"Let's hope that you're right Donny," Leo said, still looking around with suspicion. The night was silent, and the air felt heavy. It was much too quiet for Leonardo. He felt like Raphael would jump out of one of the shadows at any second.

"Once we find Mikey, Raphael should be somewhere close," Donny said, "So far so good."

Suddenly there was a scream from the alley up ahead. Leonardo froze. "That's Mikey!" he said, his eyes widening. "Something's wrong!" He started to run ahead, but Donny grabbed his shoulder.

"Leo, it could be a trap. We can't just charge in there." Donny hissed under his breath.

Leonardo nodded, but the worry was still in his eyes. Slowly the group stalked forward until they could peer into the alley.

Mikey was kneeled in the center of the alley. His hands and feet were bound. A single foot ninja held a whip and stood next to him. He raised the barbed rope and brought it down on Mikey's shoulders, causing Mikey to let out another scream.

"It could still be a trap," Donatello whispered.

"Are we just going to sit and watch while Mikey is whipped then?" Leonardo asked angrily.

"No, but we have to be…careful," Donatello said.

Leo slipped into the alley and positioned himself behind the foot ninja. _One…two…three!_ Leo jumped out and quickly knocked out the foot ninja.

"Leo?" Mikey said, looking up in surprise.

"We're here to get you out," Leo smiled as Donny and April slipped out from the shadows. April wiped the blood off Mikey's shoulders and tried to heal him as best as she could.

Suddenly Mikey's eyes grew panicked. "You guys have to get out of here!" Mikey said desperately. "It's a-"

"Trap." Shredder's deep voice came from the rooftop above. Suddenly the ground at the entrance to the alley split and a large gate emerged from underground. Leo ran for the entrance, but it was too late. Shredder laughed.

"Let the show begin."

* * *

Raphael fell onto the floor as a foot ninja shoved him into another room. The door was slammed shut and Raphael was engulfed in darkness. Sighing, he stood up and looked around. The room was a tiny circle, with barely enough room to even turn around. Looking upward, the ceiling seemed to go up pretty far. Suddenly he heard voices above him.

"Leo?"

"We're here to get you out."

Raphael heard Mikey and Leo above his head. Staring at the ceiling, he felt the pain knowing at his brain again. As he tried to figure out why they had put him in this room, he heard Shredder's menacing voice above his head.

"Let the show begin."

Suddenly the roof of the room split open, and the floor started to rise. Realizing what was happening, Raphael looked around desperately for a way to escape. But the door was long gone and the floor just kept rising. Clutching the bag of berries he had taken from Shredder's weaponry, he realized that there was no escape.

It was time to end this.

* * *

Leo watched in horror as Raphael emerged into the alley from an underground platform. His eyes were wild, and scars covered his entire body. Leonardo tensed as Raphael moved, but he was moving away from them. Wildly, he started to throw his weapons onto the ground. A small bag dangled from his belt.

_What the heck is he doing?_

Turning to face them again, Raphael raised his arms up in surrender. "Quick!" he screamed. "Kill me now when you have the chance!"

"Raph,wait!" Donny said, grabbing the antidote from his belt. "I made an antidote! You're going to be fine!" Donatello walked forward and Raphael's eyes darted from his face to the needle he was holding.

"You…what?" Raphael asked in confusion, "How did you-?"

"I'm a scientist Raph." Donny said sarcastically, "If I tried to explain how I made this cure, you would get lost by the first three words."

A hint of a smile appeared on Raphael's face. "Crazy science talk again?" he joked.

"Crazy science talk," Donny snorted. For a moment they all thought it was going to be fine. Raphael was going to be cured and they would all go home.

Suddenly Donny tripped. Whether it was fate or accident that night, as he fell they all realized happy endings are never that easy.

"No!" Leo screamed, diving forward. But he wasn't fast enough. The needle fell down onto the pavement, shattering, and their last hope was destroyed.


	16. Chapter 16

**I do not own TMNT.**

Raphael stared at the broken antidote, and time itself seemed to be frozen._ They really thought they could cure me. They didn't give up on me. _Raphael felt his heart twist in his chest. _And I've been a horrible brother to all of them._

Memories of all the heartless remarks he had made, all the mean things he had done to his brothers and all the times he had been a jerk to them all flashed through his head. _And now I'm never going to get to make amends for all of them._

He clutched the bag of poison berries tighter. Suddenly he knew what he had to do. With this last act, he would be forgiven.

"You think you control me Shredder?" Raphael growled, clutching the bag tighter. His eye started twitching. The poison was starting to take control of his body. _I have to do this before I lose to the poison._

"You've taken away everything from me. Well, almost everything," Raphael growled, a smile crossing his lips, "There's one thing you could never destroy; no matter how hard you tried."

Shredder looked down at Raphael with narrowed eyes. "I've destroyed your family, your home, your sense of security, everything. There is nothing left for you," He snarled.

"No Shredder!" Raphael hollered, "You can never take away the fact that I love my brothers, and I will do anything to protect them!" Turning to look at his three brothers, he smiled.

"Don't forget me," he whispered. Then, in his last seconds of sanity, Raphael opened the bag of poison berries and tipped back his head, rolling them into his mouth.

* * *

"NO!"

Leonardo screamed as Raphael swallowed the dark scarlet berries. Suddenly all his remarks about Raphael being the enemy were lies. He didn't want Raphael to die.

Raphael fell down and started to writhe on the ground, the poison in the berries starting to kill him. Donny rushed over and his eyes flickered across him in panic. "You can't die Raphael!" Donny screamed, "You can't die!"

Shredder's deep laugh came from the rooftop above. "Bravo, Raphael. How heroic," he laughed. Leonardo took a deep breath, pushing down his sorrow. There would be time to grieve Raphael later. Right now, the best thing he could do was get revenge.

With agility and strength he didn't even know he possessed, Leonardo let out a scream of fury and sprang upwards, his hands catching onto the low lip of the roof. Pulling himself up, he flung out his swords at Shredder, aiming for the parts of Shredder that weren't covered in armor. Blood sprayed out from the wounds on Shredder's arms and legs. Then the moment of surprise ended and Shredder stabbed Leonardo's arm. Leo yelled in pain and jerked backwards. Shredder pinned Leonardo against the ground in-between the spikes on his gloves. Leo glared at him, hatred in his eyes.

"Maybe I'll let you live so I have bait for Hamato Yoshi." Shredder said menacingly, "But then again, will live bait even be necessary to bring him here?"

Leonardo closed his eyes. _He's never wanted to kill us. It's always been Splinter he's been after._

_We've just been another piece in his revenge._

* * *

Raphael made choking noises as he writhed on the cold cement. Donny felt helpless as he watched his own brother dying in front of him. "You can't die!" Donny said, tears springing up in his eyes.

"Way to support my decision Donny," Raph coughed out hoarsely, scarlet juice dripping out of his mouth.

"Why? Why did you do that?" Donny asked, his eyes searching Raphael's for an answer.

"To save you guys obviously," Raphael coughed, more juice dripping out, "I thought you were the smart one Donny."

Donny smiled through his tears. "I…I just…" Donny was choking on his words. He gave up trying to voice his feelings and instead wrapped his arms around Raphael.

"Come'on, don't go all sappy on me bro," Raphael croaked out.

"I'm not giving up on you," Donny said, standing up. There was a new determination in his eyes. "You're not dead yet."

Mikey came over, his eyes filled with determination. "Count me in," he said confidently.

"You guys are so nice to such a jerk." Raph coughed out.

"That's what brothers are for Raph," Donny said as he fiddled with an electrical panel that was hidden in the wall of one the buildings. "If I can hack into this than I can lower the gate and we can get back to the lair."

"Oh, thanks," Raphael coughed out sarcastically, "Bring me down there so I can die underground. Like I cared."

"Even when you're about to die you're sarcastic," Donny snorted, "You really keep up your character in all situations."

"Hey, that's me," Raph started to laugh, but it turned into another hoarse croaking noise.

Suddenly Leonardo fell down from the rooftop in front of Raphael. "Leo!" Raph coughed out in surprise. Shredder landed next to the gate. "I'm done playing games," Shredder growled. "Say goodbye sewer scum." Then he raised his knives and brought them down towards Leonardo's throat.

But they never hit him.


	17. Chapter 17

**I do not own TMNT.**

A black streak materialized from the shadows and a sword glinted in the moonlight. There was the sound of metal clashing against metal as the sword stopped Shredder's knives in midair. Two black, beady eyes flashed in the dark.

"So, we meet again Shredder."

Leo opened his eyes in surprise to see Splinter standing above him, his sword drawn.

"Your battle is with me," Splinter growled, "Leave my sons alone."

Donatello started to approach Splinter, but he held up his hand. "Take your brothers and leave Donatello. This battle is my own," Splinter said firmly.

"But Master Splinter-" Donatello started to argue.

"I said leave!" Splinter rumbled, his eyes with Shredder's.

"Why do we always miss it when you beat up Shredder?" Raphael choked out jokingly. Mikey rolled his eyes and grabbed Raph's arms, starting to drag him towards the gate as Donny still worked on the lock.

"Oh, get out of the way!" Raphael coughed out, pushing Donny aside and stabbing at the lock with the little energy he had left. A few sparks flew out and the gate immediately opened.

"I could have picked that lock," Donny said with a frown. Leo staggered up to them and Donny caught him just as he was about to fall. "Here. Lean on me," Donatello said gently.

"I don't need any help. I'm fine," Leo sputtered, blood dripping down his face.

Donny rolled his eyes, "If you're fine, than so is Raphael." Leonardo opened his mouth to protest again but Donny gave him a glare that meant there was nothing more to discuss. Reluctantly, Leo leaned on Donatello as the beaten-up, bloody group stumbled out onto the street. Raphael was writhing in pain as Mikey continued to try and drag him.

"Hold still!" Mikey hissed. Raphael let out a gagging noise and red juice dribbled out of his mouth. He shrieked in pain and Mikey shuddered.

"It hurts!" Raph coughed out, his eyes wide.

"Well then you shouldn't have eaten those berries!" Mikey growled.

"I don't regret it," Raph said, clenching his jaw in pain, "I'm just saying it hurts!"

Mikey rolled his eyes, but secretly he admired Raphael's strength and courage. Not everyone could sacrifice themselves like that. Donatello slid open the manhole cover and helped lower Leonardo and Raphael inside. Then he slipped in after them. As he pulled the cover back over, he got one last glimpse of Splinter and Shredder dueling, and then the cover was pulled over and the light was shut out.

* * *

Raphael groaned as Mikey dragged him into the lair. Everything was looking fuzzy and blurred, and now his brother's voices were distorted.

"Put him on the ceeouch."

_What's a ceeouch?_ Raphael wondered, vaguely aware that Donny was probably saying 'couch' and his voice was just growing distorted in Raphael's mind. He felt himself being raised upwards and then suddenly the comfort of the cushions was on his back. He closed his eyes, for a moment relishing the comfort. It had been a long time since he had actually laid on something soft.

"Flick, weed-eed to get the poison out of him!"

Raphael aimed a weak punch towards the blurry outline of Donatello. He smiled crookedly as he heard a yelp from Donatello. "Hey!" Donny said, frowning…er, at least Raphael _**thought **_he was frowning. It was hard to tell.

"Yurr not gonna keep me alive!" Raphael said, his voice slurred as he tried to fight off the ever-increasing pain in his stomach.

"Yes I am," Donny said firmly, "I'm not letting you kill yourself!"

Raph let out a strange croaking noise before he clumsily lunged for his sai, which were lying on the table. "Oh no you don't!" Donny said, and grabbed the other end of the weapon. They grappled for a moment, but Donatello was much stronger than Raphael in his current state, and he jerked away the sai.

"No!" Raph gagged. Donatello tossed the sai carelessly behind him before he grabbed a cup off the table and held it up to Raph.

"Drink it," Donny ordered.

Raphael closed his mouth firmly, glaring at Donatello. "I'm not going to drink any-" Raphael sputtered as Donny quickly poured the liquid into his mouth. Raph spat out the fluid, but some of it had already gone down his throat. He recognized the horrible flavor.

"Oh, cra-" Raphael lurched and he leaned over the side of the couch, hurling onto the floor. Donny smirked.

"Like I said, I'm not letting you kill yourself," Donny said matter-of-factly. Raphael could feel a boiling in his stomach, but it wasn't from the poison. The poison was now a puddle on the floor. His head spun. _No, no no no!_ Raph gritted his teeth.

Obviously, he hadn't been cured of his insanity yet.


	18. Chapter 18

**I do not own TMNT.**

"Do something!"

Raphael's arms were crossed over his chest, and he clutched his elbows so tightly they turned red under his pale green skin. He could feel the poison slowly creeping into his mind, willing him to grab his sai and feel the satisfaction of plunging them into the brother's neck. _No!_ He shook his head, trying to fight off the insanity. _That's not what I want. That's what Shredder wants._

"I don't know what to do!" Donny said, panic creeping into his voice.

"Hit me over the head, chain me down, lock me in my room, just do something before it's too late!" Raphael said through clenched teeth.

"If I hadn't been such a klutz, none of this would have happened!" Donatello groaned in despair.

"Donny, focus!" Raph growled, "Now is not the time to feel sorry for yourself!"

"Well sorry I'm freaking out!" Donny said, raising his voice, "Because your brother going crazy is totally not stressful AT ALL!"

"Just DO SOMETHING!" Raph screamed.

Donatello grabbed his staff. "Please don't kill me for this," he said regretfully. Then he swung at Raphael's head. There was a loud thunk, and Raph felt his knees buckle as he fell to the floor before the world went black.

* * *

"Daddy, it hurts!"

A young Raphael was clutching his stomach. Pain was etched on his face. Splinter stood over him, his kind black eyes studying him.

"What did you eat today Raphael?" Splinter asked, his deep voice echoing in the spacious room.

"All I've had today was some water," Raph said through clenched teeth.

"Where was the water from?" Splinter asked, narrowing his eyes.

"…the sewer…" Raphael said quietly, his eyes downcast.

"Haven't I told you that water isn't clean?" Splinter sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Dad. Leo dared me to do it. I told him I didn't want to, but then he called me a scaredy cat, so I had to do it!" Raphael said defensively. Splinter sighed as he reached into one of the poorly constructed cupboards and grabbed a cup.

"You shouldn't let your pride cause you to be foolish," Splinter said, grabbing some leaves and sprinkling them into the cup.

"I know Father," Raph said, the shame clear on his face, "I was stupid."

"We learn from our mistakes," Splinter said, his tone becoming a bit gentler, "Here, drink this." He held forward a teacup that had obviously been cracked and repaired many times. Raphael took it in his three-fingered hands and stared at is suspiciously for a moment. Then, very slowly, he took a small sip from the cup. His face immediately screwed up in disgust. "What is this?" he said, forcing himself to swallow the vile liquid.

"Saltwater yarrow tea," Splinter said, grabbing a dirty plastic bag and putting it in Raphael's hands.

"Saltwater?" Raphael said in confusion, "But I thought that saltwater made you-" he stopped midsentence and keeled over, a watery mess coming out of his mouth and landing in the bag. The bitter taste of the tea remained in his mouth, the overpowering flavor mixing with the taste of sewage.

"Oh, disgusting!" Raph said, sticking out his tongue.

"Not the best flavor, but does your stomach hurt anymore?" he chuckled, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"No…" Raphael said, blinking his eyes, "It doesn't. Thank you daddy!" Raphael wrapped his tiny arms around Splinter's shoulders. Splinter paused for a moment, surprised, and then slowly returned the hug.

"Love you Daddy," Raph whispered.

"I love you too my little Raphael."

* * *

Raphael awoke with a jolt, the bitter taste of saltwater yarrow tea still in his mouth. "Splinter?" he said, looking around as his vision focused. Donny was approaching him with a…what was that? A knife?! Raphael stumbled to his feet too quickly, causing his vision to go black for a moment. Panicking, he swung a fist out towards where he thought Donatello was.

"Ouch! You have to stop punching my face!" Donny said, irritated. Raphael grabbed his sai off the table, his vision working again. He could feel heart pulsing rapidly in his chest, and his head was spinning. He glanced at Donny's hand again and realized what he was holding was a needle, not a knife. Suddenly memories of the needle he had seen the day he had been poisoned flooded into his head and panic set in. The poison took this chance to creep into his mind.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK!" Raphael screamed, stabbing wildly at Donatello. Donny scrambled backwards, dropping the needle. Donny held his breath, but the needle didn't shatter, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Raph, stop!" Donny said, holding up his hands to try and stop his insane brother, "I'm trying to help you!"

"I won't fall for it again!" Raph said as he glared at Donatello, adrenaline pumping through his veins, "Stay away from me!"

"This isn't you Raph!" Donny said, "Let me help you!"

With a shout of fury, Raphael raised his sai and lunged at Donatello. The metal glinted in the light, and he brought it down towards Donatello's neck, his eyes bloodshot and his pupils dilated. Donatello raised his staff to stop Raphael, but too late he came to the dreadful realization.

The blade tip at the end of his staff was still open.


	19. Chapter 19

**WOW. This got really long. But I had like, four days to work on it, so I guess that's why. :P My computer broke down, and that's why it took me so long to post this next chapter up. But here it is! Please read and review!**

**I do not own TMNT.**

Raph screamed as the blade ran down his face between his eyes. Warm, sticky blood splattered into his eyes, and his mask was torn in half. If slipped off his head and fluttered onto the ground. Raphael gagged as blood dripped into his mouth. His face was in horrible pain_. He must have at least cut through two layers of skin! _He grinded his teeth together to stop himself from screaming.

"Oh my gosh!" Donny gasped, "I am so sorry!" Raphael turned to Donatello, his mind clearing. He opened his mouth to speak, but a voice suddenly rang in his head, loud and clear.

_You're always whining, "Poor me, nobody understands me."_

"Leo?" Raph said, his voice growing tense.

_And you're awful!_

Donatello's voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Raphael growled and spun around to glare at Donny. "You take that back!" he snarled.

"Raph? What are you talking about? Are you ok?" Donny said, his eyes filled with concern. Raph whipped around frantically, his eyes wild. The voices were everywhere, taunting him. The horrible pain in his face faded into the background, no longer important.

_You act so tough, but really you're just a big baby!_

_Do you need your bottle?_

_Who needs their diaper changed?_

_What's the matter Raph? You gonna cry?_

"Stop it!" Raph screamed, the voices from the past mocking him, torturing him. His brother's cruel laughter filled the room. All the bad memories were flooding into his mind.

"_Don't tell me tough, unbreakable Raph is going to cry because his shell got a little scratched up," _Leo's high-pitched, nine-year-old voice sneered. Raphael self-consciously lifted up his hand and felt the lightning bolt shaped chip in his shell.

"_Why are you always so mean?"_ Mikey's five-year-old voice whined_, "Sometimes I wish you weren't my brother." _

"_Why do you always have to ruin everything?"_ Donny's thirteen-year-old voice growled, _"Father brought us these gifts all the way from the surface and you ruined them!"_

"It was an accident!" Raph yelled, panic creeping into his voice, "And it was three years ago! You can't hold a grudge that long Donny!"

"Can't I?" Donny's figure emerged from the shadows. His brown eyes flashed with anger, "All you've ever done is been a jerk to us."

"I'm sorry!" Raph said, his breathing becoming rapid, "I take it all back. I never meant any of it."

"Oh, and saying sorry will just fix everything?" Leo snarled. Raphael whipped around and searched his eyes for some sort of kindness, but only found anger and hatred. Suddenly Raph was wishing the floor would crumble beneath his feet and he could disappear.

"All those scars?" Donny motioned to the angry red lines covering Raphael's body. "You deserve every single one," he snarled.

"You can't mean that Donny," Raph said, putting his hands on Donny's shoulders. The pain of his words was obvious on Raph's blood-covered face. "You must be lying," Raph said desperately.

"We're just giving you a taste of your own medicine," Leo growled, "Every day of our lives you've pushed us down, made us feel weak and useless. How does it feel Raph? Do you feel unloved? Rejected?" Raphael closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears, trying to block them out. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked down to see Mikey's smiling face looking up at him.

"Mikey," Raph said with relief, "Surely you aren't mad?"

Suddenly Mikey's smile disappeared, and his usually cheerful blue eyes darkened angrily. "Not mad?" he snarled, and Raphael flinched, "Remember all those times you beat me down, called me stupid?"

"I'm sorry," Raphael said, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.

"You don't know how it feels," Mikey hissed, "To be unappreciated. Unloved."

Raphael looked up, his eyes filled with tears. "Yes I do," he said, choking back a sob, "Because it's every day of my life. It's my own fault, and I hate myself for it."

Suddenly a flood of tiny, black beetles swarmed into the room. Their shiny, black bodies quickly consumed his brothers, dragging them underneath the black ocean of bugs. Raphael could feel them crawling up his legs, and he slashed at them with his sai frantically, but they never seemed to stop coming. Soon they were crawling into his mouth, open in a silent scream of terror. He could feel them dragging him down as they whispered in his ear that giving up would be much easier than fighting back.

"Raph! Raph snap out of it!"

Raph could hear Donatello shouting, but his voice was so quiet and so far away that he knew it would be pointless to try and reach him. He felt his knees buckle as he fell into the black, swarming mass on the floor. But instead of feeling insects crunch beneath his weight, he hit hard concrete. Raphael blinked, and suddenly the beetles were gone and Donatello was crouched down beside him, shaking Raphael back and forth.

"Wake up or I swear I'll hit you over the head with my bo staff!" Donatello threatened.

"Donny? Donny! I'm sorry!" Raph shot up like a bullet, his eyes panicked, "You didn't mean what you said, right? You couldn't have!" He clutched Donny's shoulders and stared intensely into his brown eyes.

"Calm down!" Donatello said, brushing Raph's hands off his shoulders, "What are you talking about?"

"Where's Leo and Mikey? Don't tell me the bugs ate them!?" Raphael gasped, "How did you survive them? They were everywhere. I saw them consume you!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Donny said, the confusion clear on his face, "Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"

"There were bugs everywhere, you guys were…you were…" Raphael swallowed, trying to hold back tears_. I can't cry. Not here. Not in front of Donny._ But it was just so tempting. For as long as he could remember he had been tough, unbreakable, and emotionless_. Just this once._ His body seemed plead as he fought back tears.

"Hey."

Raph looked up to see Donatello holding out a white cloth. He smiled kindly, revealing the gap in his teeth. "You might wanna wipe off your face. It's a little…red," he said with a snort of amusement.

Suddenly it was just all too much for Raph and burst out crying, his tears turning red as they slid down his blood-covered face. "I'm not crying!" he growled as he wiped his face, smearing the blood.

"I never said you were," Donny shrugged, a hint of a smile appearing on his lips. Raph snatched the cloth from Donny's hands and wiped the blood and tears off his face. He flinched as the cloth ran across the gash, and the pain in his face suddenly became overwhelming again, and he gritted his teeth to keep from whimpering.

"You still haven't told me where Leo and Mikey are," Raph said after he had gained control of his tears. His eyes were still red and puffy, and he frowned, wishing that it wasn't so obvious that he had been crying.

"They weren't consume by bugs," Donny rolled his eyes, "They went to find Splinter. Where the heck did you get the idea that we were consumed by beetles?"

"I saw them! They were everywhere. Then they disappeared when I hit the floor…" Raph trailed off, blinking his eyes in confusion.

"Hmm. You must have been hallucinating. I wonder if that has anything to do with the poison," Donny said thoughtfully.

"Maybe you guys would be better off without me," Raph blurted out as he gazed at the ground. Suddenly there was a loud _thunk_ and Raphael yelped as Donny's staff hit his head. He glared at Donny as his head throbbed. "What the heck was that for?!" he shouted angrily, "You already cut me across the face with your stupid blade, and now you're whacking me to death with your staff?!"

"Where the shell did you get that idea?" Donatello yelled angrily, "Of all the stupid things you've said-"

"I'm serious Donny," Raphael growled, "I've never been a great brother in the first place, and now with all this going on-"

"But I can fix you!" Donatello said desperately, "I made another antidote!"

"You-wait-what?" Raph said, furrowing his eyebrows. But before Donny had a chance to speak, someone burst into the lair. Two panicked eyes flashed behind an orange mask. Red streaks covered his body. Mikey? Raph suddenly felt his stomach twist as he realized that Mikey was dragging a furry lump behind him…a furry lump that was Splinter.

"Mikey! What happened? Where's Leo?" Donny said, completely forgetting about the antidote and rushing up to Mikey.

"Shredder," Mikey said hoarsely. Letting out a hack, blood spewed out of his mouth and splattered onto the floor, the crimson droplets landing in front of him. Then Mikey's eyes rolled back in his head, and he dropped onto the floor, landing in his own pool of blood. Raphael stared in horror at his younger brother's nearly motionless body.

_Dear Lord, what has Shredder done to my little brother?_


	20. Chapter 20

**I do not own TMNT.**

Leo blinked open his eyes as his vision slowly returned. The starry night sky was starting to fade as the first signs of light showed on the horizon. Groaning, he sat up to assess his injuries. Amazingly, the only new injury he had was a large bruise on his head. As he put his hand on his head, he felt three long scars and flinched. _This is the worst I've ever been hurt in battle…and it's my own brother I'm fighting against._ Instantly Leo regretted feeling sorry for himself as an image of Raphael flashed in his mind. The last time he had seen him, Raphael had angry red whip marks covering his arms and legs, not to mention the large scar on his shoulder_. _

_A scar I gave him._

Yes, Raph was in much worse condition than him. He felt sick to his stomach. The only one who wasn't hurt was Donatello, who had somehow managed to escape this whole endeavor without a single scratch.

He felt panic rise up inside him as he remembered how he had last seen Splinter, just a furry lump laying on the ground. He pushed down the panic. Right now he had to focus on finding somewhere to hide. Soon people would be out and about, and Leo didn't exactly blend in very well.

Suddenly he felt something on his foot, Whipping out his katanas, he looked down and realized the thing on his foot was a little girl. She had big blue eyes and brown hair that fell to her shoulders. She looked to be about three years old. Letting out a happy gargle, she clung onto his leg. Leonardo couldn't help smiling a little. Splinter would love this little girl. He had a thing for kids.

"Ok, get off," Leo said, lifting up his foot. The girl screamed with delight and held on tighter. "I said, off!" Leo frowned, shaking his leg up and down. The little girl screamed again, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Again! Again!" she screeched.

"Alison? Where are you?" A woman's voice came from the street. Leo's eyes widened with panic.

"Get off you little freak!" Leo said, trying to pry her hands off his leg.

"Freak! Freak!" the girl screamed with delight.

"Alison? There you are-" A woman with short brown hair and almond-shaped brown eyes stood in the alley, frozen with terror, She wore bell-bottom blue jeans and a tropical blue t-shirt with the word "HAWAII" printed on it in bold, orange letters. She was barefoot, and judging by the mess of hair on her head, had just gotten out of bed. They stared at each other for a moment, both of them wide eyed. Then, almost simultaneously, they both screamed at the top of their lungs.

Windows flew open as people looked down into the alley from their apartments. Everything was silent for a split second. Then one girl screamed something about getting her camera, and quickly the quiet alley was turned into a state of chaos. People were screaming, rushing to grab their cameras, dialing the police or just staring at Leo in shock. The little girl clapped her hands and squealed with delight. Sirens wailed in the distance, and that's when Leo realized he had to get out of there, and fast.

Grabbing his katanas, he scaled the wall quickly. He winced as saw a flash of light behind him. At least he hadn't been facing the camera. He knew if he went back to destroy the camera, other people would just get better shots of him. The best thing he could do was get out of there as fast as he could.

One adorable, three-year-old girl had given him away.

Leo looked up to see the sun slowly rising. People would be coming out soon, and then there would be no escaping them. Leo skidded to a halt as a little girl froze in front of him. She let out a scream, and he bolted to the right.

"Help! It's a monster!"

Leo winced at her words. Would there ever come a day when him and his brothers could actually live like normal people? I mean, come'on, the world could use a little variety. There were black people and white people...why not turtle people? Leo scaled a wall and collapsed at the bottom, trying to catch his breath. It looked like there was nobody around...

Suddenly Leo felt a newspaper whack his head and looked up to see an old man glaring at him. "Get out of here you varmint!" he said weakly in a voice cracked with age. Judging by his clouded eyes, he was blind. Leo bounced onto his feet and dashed out into the street.

"And stay out!" he heard the old man shout. A car honked wildly as Leo dived for the side of the road. Quickly he disappeared into a dark alley. Panting, Leo skidded to a halt. The shouts and sirens and screams were distant now. Peering into an empty trash container, he realized that this was his best bet_. At least it's empty_. As he climbed in, an orange tabby cat peered at him and cocked his head curiously. Staring at it, Leo couldn't help thinking of Raphael. Raph had a thing for small animals, whether he'd admit it or not.

"Hey kitty kitty." Leo said, holding out his hand. The cat stared at him suspiciously. "I'm not going to hurt you." Leo reached out further, and suddenly the cat triggered. Letting out a hiss, it jumped at Leo's face and with a screech ran its claws down his cheek. Leo pushed the cat away, and it bolted out into the street.

With a sigh, he slammed the cover of the trash container shut. He winced as he realized that he had shut his fingers in between the trash can and the cover.

"Oh, flame it all!" Leo screamed. Yanking his red, throbbing fingers out, he slammed his head against the side of the can.

Today was definitely not going to be a good one.


	21. Chapter 21

**I do not own TMNT.**

Donny quickly leaped into action. Without hesitation he picked up his younger brother and dragged him into his bedroom. He felt no panic. No desperation. Only calm and confidence filled his mind. Subconsciously he knew that if he let doubt creep into his mind, he could end up risking Mikey's life. So he simply refused to even let the possibility of failure come into his thoughts.

"Ugg, doesn't Mikey ever clean his room?" Donatello said in disgust as he waded through garbage and other various items Donatello guessed had also came from the trash. "Oh, gross!" he said as he pulled his foot, now covered in old pizza, out of the ocean of trash. This was the opposite of his room. Donny's room was always neat and clean, everything in its proper place. (Except when he was working on a particularly hard project; then there were crumpled pieces of paper littering the floor) But this room couldn't even compare to the small clutter that built up in Donatello's room every once and while.

Donny heaved Michelangelo onto the bed. Daintily Donatello picked up a moldy pizza box between two fingers and flung it into the garbage can, which was surprisingly clean and empty. Donny was tempted to start picking up the trash, but he had much more important things to do. Silently Raphael slipped into the room.

"Splinter?" Donny asked, looking up at him.

"He doesn't look seriously injured. I put him by the tree in the dojo," Raphael said, slipping next to Donatello and scowling when a rotten piece of garbage stuck to his foot. Raph handed Donatello a box of band-aids and a roll of bandaging cloth, and they quickly got to work. Raphael used a wet cloth to wipe the blood off of Mikey, while Donatello wrapped the bandaging cloth around the larger cuts and used band-aids on the smaller ones. Donatello glanced up once to look at Raphael. His eyes were focused and concentrated as he worked. Donny felt a flash of pride. This was how it should be; brother beside brother, working together to help each other.

"You know, we need you more than you think," Donatello said quietly, finally breaking the silence. He could see Raph tense a little, and then relax.

"Come'on Donny, be honest with me," Raphael said, almost bitterly, "You guys don't need me that much. I mean, you make all those crazy inventions that end up helping us a lot, Leo is the leader and we'd be lost without him, and without Mikey we'd be arguing constantly. Without me? There wouldn't be anyone to pick on Michelangelo all the time? Doesn't sound I'm needed much."

"I am being honest," Donatello insisted, "We need you. Don't you remember Spiderbites?"

"Too well," Raph said, narrowing his eyes, "I hate that guy."

"Without you, that guy would have beaten us up," Donatello argued.

"He did beat you up," Raphael snorted.

"Yeah, but he would have beaten us up even more! We couldn't take him down alone," Donny said, his eyes pleading for Raph to understand. "And to be honest-" Donatello lowered his voice a tone or two, "I think sometimes Leo is jealous of you."

"Jealous of me?" Raphael's face was clearly baffled. That sounded like something he would have believed when he was an arrogant kid. Now he knew better. No one wanted to be angry and moody like him. Nobody was jealous of him…right?

"You're the best at fighting, but he's the leader. Don't you think that might make him a little jealous? I've seen him training before. He tries so hard Raphael; and he can never beat you!" Donatello said, a smile appearing on his face.

Raphael blinked thoughtfully, as if he might actually be considering the idea. His eyes seemed to say: _What if Donatello's right? What if I've been misjudging myself this whole time?_

Suddenly Mikey groaned. Instantly Raphael's attention snapped to him, his eyes intense. "I hurt all over!" Mikey groaned. His eyes opened into slits, but quickly closed. "Why the heck do you have the light on?" he grumbled, "Can't I get a little sleep?"

"Ok, if you're tired then we'll leave," Donny said, throwing a glance at Raphael, "Right Raph?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Raphael said, his eyes still locked onto Michelangelo's face. His eyes…his eyes…something was wrong with them. Thoughts flew in and out of Donny's head and he realized what was going on. Donatello raced forwards and grabbed Raph's hands. Raphael snapped around.

"What the heck are you doing Donny?" he said, his voice escalating in panic, "Let go!"

"Sorry Raph. It's for your own good," Donatello said as he tied together Raphael's hands. Raphael started to scream, thrashing wildly.

"I swear I'm not going insane!" Raphael screamed at the top of his lungs. "Untie me right now Donatello! I said untie me!"

"I can't trust you Raph," Donatello said sternly.

"I'm serious! You have to untie me RIGHT FREAKING NOW!" Raphael screamed, his eyes locked on something behind Donatello. Donny was confused now. What on earth was Raph talking about? And what was he looking at?

"What's going on?" Michelangelo grumbled, slitting open his eyes. Suddenly they popped wide open. He opened his mouth to scream, but Raphael beat him to it.

"WATCH OUT!" Raph screamed. But it was too late. Donatello felt something hit his head, and the world went black.


End file.
